The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) in collaboration with the NYC Plaza Program, along with Baruch College in NYC, and the Los Angeles City Planning Commission launched independent projects to transform community spaces utilizing innovative resin-based planters. Designed by Florida-based TerraCast® Products, an American owned and operated company; the planters are manufactured in the United States from a durable resin blend that resists sun and salt as well as the abuses of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The lightweight material allows for easy relocation during events or with seasonal changes.
Areas all over the country are utilizing tactical urbanism for emerging public spaces, such as pedestrian plazas, streetscapes and parklets. Successful public spaces require modernization, acceptance and maintenance: These projects implement all three. Under NYC DOT and the NYC Plaza Program, Union Square, Madison Square and Times Square all feature TerraCast® planters, which adhere to New York City’s exacting design requirements while ensuring the areas to be energetic centers of activity.

Baruch College introduced TerraCast® commercial planters to convert a road located between two of their campus buildings into a student plaza. The planters were chosen as decorative barriers which best met the needs of the college because they are maintenance free and durable. The LA City Planning Commission accomplished something similar at Sunset Triangle Plaza when they renovated a street in Silver Lake into a pedestrian plaza utilizing TerraCast® Products step planters. These planters separated Sunset Boulevard from people walking and dining outside.

TerraCast® Products’ modern resin planters contribute to this new approach to city building that integrates the reinforcing benefits of vibrant public spaces with tactical urbanism. TerraCast® Planters last longer than products made from other materials, and they are cost-effective for project budgets. Constructed to not require any maintenance, TerraCast® planters can withstand a variety of weather, including intense heat and harsh winter climates. The lightweight planters can be moved and loaded by hand, which allow for easy shipping and transporting on the job site.