Implementation of market transformations in the new era of Ukrainian statehood objectively requires the development of a qualitatively new model of economy, primarily focused on ensuring sustainable socio-economic development. At the same time, ensuring the sustainable development of any country should be based on sound environmental policy, which requires a certain level of environmental culture and education. At the same time, ecological culture acts as a special direction of human life, on which not only the natural existence of modern civilization, its sustainable development, but also the future of the next generations, depends significantly. Without a clear understanding of the whole range of environmental issues, one cannot understand why some ethnic groups live in harmony with nature while others leave behind ruins. Why in some cases human life creates harmonious landscapes and ecosystems and in other cases the environment becomes a desert? The authors set out to explore the theoretical and methodological principles of ecological rehabilitation of urban areas, to substantiate the phenomenon of ecological rehabilitation in the context of achieving Sustainable Development Goals, to determine the role and place of environmental education as an integral part of the struggle for environment and ecological rehabilitation. The research hypothesis is based on the assumption that today in Ukraine the issues of ecological development of territories, preservation of the natural environment and ecological education of the local population are of special importance. The state leadership, executive bodies of all levels, local self-government bodies, public associations should, first of all, take care of the issues of preservation of the natural environment, rational use of national resources, rehabilitation of territories affected by human activities. Not only the current state of socio-economic development of the state, the health of the nation, but also the future of Ukrainian independence depends on how successfully these issues will be resolved. The practical purpose of the publication was to develop practical recommendations for increasing the role and place of local governments in the ecological rehabilitation of urban areas. Given the scientific and practical significance of the problem of environmental security of Ukraine at the present stage of state formation, it is planned to continue research on the problems of ecological rehabilitation of urban areas, primarily in the context of finding new mechanisms for public management of sustainable development of large cities.