The brazilian urbanization process happened in practical terms in the XX century. Nevertless, contrary to the expectation of many, the urban universe didn't overcome some characteristics of the colonial and imperial periods marked by land, income and power concentration, by the action of "colonels" or the policy of favoritism and by an arbitrary law deployment. This paper has the objective to address the Brazilian metropolis by the end of the XX century making evident the relationship about social inequality, territorial segregation and environment, having as a reference some authors whose work reflected the Brazilian society "building", specially the mark of modernization with the development of the tardiness. In doing so, a great relevance is given to the role of the law in keeping concentrated power and privileges in the cities, which reflects - and at the same time enhances - the urban territory social inequality.
