I've found building up a certain way helps... however don't try using this if you are nothing but urban building, which most of you are.

There are a bunch of idiots who can't get their duffs off the couch living in your city feasting off welfare, because they can't walk across the street to the gas station to go to work. That means your sims living in your town

Usually I drag an avenue, or an NWM avenue, through a portion of the city. Then I drag RHW across the entire tile. I make this avenue go to the RHW, sometimes end in an intersection with the RHW, or sometimes use a ramp or build an interchange.

Generally if you zone commercial along this avenue, after activiating Buggi's demand ordinance, you can zone residental behind these commercial zones, like so. X is commercial, O is Residental:

XXXXXXXXXOOXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXOOXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXOOXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXOOXXXXXXXXXXXXX

You get the idea.

Then once the city starts getting big enough, at the end of the avenue, I zone industry, and drag the avenue to the nearest border, and make a neighbor connection for freight. Sometimes they use RHW though.

So then it looks like this. I is industry. I of course seperate the residental and commercial from the industry to avoid pollution, usually with trees or parks. P indicates those trees or parks.

XXXXXXXXXOOXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXOOXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXOOXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXOOXXXXXXXXXXXXX
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

I have found doing something like this keeps people from complaining about commutes. At first you get the no job zot, but it goes away after awhile, when the see the work. Usually they are only commuting at the most 20 tiles.

Also remember to keep traffic steady.