The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the topic of sustainability as a key basis for the formation of utopia on the example of the work of utopians (architects, politicians, etc.) in the historical context, and to compare their approaches to environmentalism with those prevalent and implemented today. The authors identify three conditional periods of utopia formation from the point of view of urban planning, which clearly demonstrate the shift in the approach to solving relevant problems, namely: spreading the idea of an ideal city (on the example of Franciscus Patricius, Ludovico Zuccolo); rejection of the city as a desirable model of human settlement and an attempt to return to nature (works by William Dean Howells, William Morris, Anatole France); a period of active implementation of environmental technologies in projects since the early 20th century (the work by Ernest Callenbach).