INTRODUCTION: When it comes to Urban Planning, the concept of sustainability is closely linked to the concept of carrying capacity, that is, the capacity of an ecosystem or a region to support, in a planned way, the maximum number of human populations under a given production system. OBJECIVES: This research aims to find out how the urban environmental issue is treated in the master plans, especially in the analysis of the following aspects: principles, objectives, guidelines, macro-zoning, parameters of land use and occupation and urban instruments. the master plans approved after 2001. Its specific objective is to ascertain how environmental concerns are reflected in the adoption of parameters for land use and occupation and urban regulation in the master plans under study. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In addition, the research addresses the occupation of environmentally fragile areas together with environmental aspects in city planning, and how they can be regularized and curbed by measures present in the Master Plan. To enable the development and interpretation of the Municipal Master Plans, research and theoretical discussion were organized around the themes of sustainability, occupation of fragile areas and their relationship with environmental protection and risk areas, environmental planning and urban land occupation and integrated urban planning as a precept for the sustainable development of cities. RESULTS: To discuss the topic, a table was created as a parameter analysis tool containing the aspects presented in the main objective, the cities studied and the occurrence or not of the environmental issue in the urban management of each Master Plan. It is important to note that, although some terms are present in the Law (such as environmental sustainability, sustainable development, socio-environmental balance), they can be worked in other ways, in other not so conventional areas. With the worksheet, it was possible to relate whether these terms are in line with the theoretical framework and whether there is a coherence of the law with the territorial proposal and zoning of the municipality. It was also possible to verify the date of creation of these Master Plans, and whether there were recent updates that included environmental issues in their guidelines. It was possible to notice that most municipalities have environmental sustainability issues in their Laws, being more present in the Objectives and Principles of the Master Plan. However, there are few who explore and describe what environmental sustainability is, and with what policies and strategies they will achieve this sustainable development. There are also rare municipalities that mention and make a direct link with the SDGs proposed by the UN (with the exception of the municipalities of Almirante Tamandaré and Araucária), aligning their commitments and their sustainable urban development agendas. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: The greatest scope of the research was in relation to the theoretical basis, and in the elaboration of the analysis framework and the comparative table of the Master Plans. In addition, it was possible to carry out more in-depth research in the municipalities of Araucária and Almirante Tamandaré – as they mention the SDGs in their master plans – through the relationship and analysis of macro-zoning maps and fragile areas.
