The aim of this article is to determine whether the modernization activities and investments carried out so far in Wroclaw's large housing estates are heading towards an ecological estate and whether they meet the requirements of sustainable development. The analyses were based on available literature and the author's inventory of housing estates in Wroclaw in terms of technical modernization of buildings and improvement of the functional and spatial program. This paper is a general review and the individual activities are connected to examples from other Polish and European cities, with particular emphasis on energy efficiency, ecology and adaptation of housing estates to contemporary challenges of civilization.