The article is devoted to the consideration of various aspects of urban problems in the research of sociologists. The specificity of sociology of the city as an independent branch of sociological science and dissertation on sociology (2016–2018) devoted to the study of social problems of the urban environment are analyzed. There is a link between the theories of urban sociology and the characteristics of the empirical studies of the authors of dissertations. Such a connection allows to set the modern trends in the relevant sector of sociology and the object space is performed in the direction of theses. A brief analysis is offered of the main problems in the study of the city, for example, caused mainly by the orientation on economic and management plans in the study of urban settlements. At the same time, there is a lack of value research, attention to the issues of interaction between the city and the person, the city and the village. Dissertants are mainly focused in their work on the development of megacities and large cities. This trend is typical in general for the sociology of the city, but the article focuses on the need to expand the research horizons of sociologists in the study of urban issues, including the interdisciplinary level.