The article considers several relevant questions: will the period of population concentration in large cities and metropolises, which are the main resource - energy consumers and sources of environmental degradation, eventually come to end? What should the new cities be like and what should be done with the old ones which were built on the basis of the consumption growth ideology and unregulated spatial expansion? Is there any way for existing cities to evolve into new forms? The urban ecology concept is presented in regard to Russia, and its implementation perspectives under the current crisis conditions are discussed.