Nowadays cities and society have become close elements that interact with each other and depend on each other on a daily basis. The current trend for people is to prefer living in cities to be closer to the institutions and the services they need on a daily basis. In this way, global challenges such as overcrowding and urbanization are increasing importance in global context. In addition, as the number of people around the world is growing, more resources are being spent to meet daily needs. Greater emphasis is being placed on saving resources, as their amount is limited and some sectors are already facing resource scarcity. Considering the above-mentioned problems of urbanization, population growth, rural depopulation and resource scarcity, modern society has severely damaged the planet’s ecological state, contributing to massive air and water pollution, which urgently needs to be improved to ensure sustainable development. All these problems inevitably affect everyday life and health of society. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly study the various ecological problems, look for interconnectedness among them and develop solutions to reduce them. Jelgava is one of the smart cities in Latvia, which could serve as an example for sustainable urban development.