The paper concentrates on the possibilities of checking the extent to which cities meet the smart city concept. The presented concept concentrates on one of the main smart cities characteristic: smart environment. This paper is a result of joint work of specialist from two diff erent areas: management and environmental protection. The interdisciplinary character of the paper is characteristic for smart cities.

Modern cities are increasingly promoting their own individual brands to gain a competitive advantage. 28 Polish cities, after joining the Cittaslow international network of cities, can additionally use their native brand in their activities. The aim of the author was to answer the question: should cities only use an individual brand, or maybe they can support these activities with a common brand strategy. The growth of interest in individual brands of 28 cities belonging to the Cittaslow network has been evaluated, also their popularity, popularity of the native brand on the Facebook, and the use of the Cittaslow brand by cities on their websites were analysed. It was noticed that not all cities use the Cittaslow logo. But most cities in Cittaslow publish a link to the network and brand information on their websites. The native brand Cittaslow is in Poland at the positioning stage but probably its popularity will grow as the benefits from using it begin to be noticed.

Cities play a special role in the process of sustainable development of the country. The city management plays a fundamental role in this challenge. The mayor should become a manager and manage the city based on a strategic marketing management model. Thanks to this, it can optimally use available financial instruments that give the opportunity to achieve strategic development goals of the city.