Topicality. The imperfection of the management of urban planning systems and urban areas, the lack of consideration of the environmental component, leads to deteriorating conditions and quality of life in cities, which necessitates the further development of theoretical and methodological principles of environmental management of urban areas.Aim and tasks. Substantiation of the necessity of formation of ecologically oriented urban areas management system.Research results. The basic problems of functioning of city territories and their management are determined; the necessity of forming a system of ecologically oriented management of urban territories is substantiated; the regulatory-legal and organizational preconditions for improving the management system of urban areas, taking into account the environmental component; the interpretation of the system of ecologically oriented management of urban areas as a set of principles, methods, means, forms and tools for managing the elements of the urban environment and processes that take place in it in order to ensure a high level of quality of the urban environment in general, environmental safety, social attractiveness and economic efficiency in particular; Its subject, object, basic principles, purpose, criteria of efficiency of functioning are specified.Conclusions. The study found that there is a significant deterioration in the quality of the urban environment, which is largely due to the imperfection of the management of the processes of urban development, management of the city economy, social and economic environment of the territory; a significant part of the problems of the functioning of urban areas is associated with ignoring the ecological component of city management; regulatory-legal and organizational preconditions exist for the formation of ecologically oriented urban land management system; the basis of the formation of a system of ecologically oriented management of urban areas, it is necessary to put ecologically-oriented principles, methods, tools and tools that will ensure a high level of quality of the urban environment in general, environmental safety, social attractiveness and economic efficiency.