When you make the first reconnaissance, start with building the preliminary road net. You will see that first road can only be a narrow one lane road. So build a short fragment somewhere to unlock other road types. You will demolish it in a moment and receive back most (~75%) of funds. Sadly, currently highways aren't available, you need more citizens for them (for example, 2200).

From the highway exit, that is somewhere in the edge, lead a road, preferably two lane one, which will become the axis road of the city. It can't be too short, as it won't serve it purpose as connector, but it can't be too long as well as it would ruin your budget. Connect it to the motorway with two segments of one lane roads. Direction of such road depends on how you placed it.

Now place some streets, near which you will start building industrial empire and place coal plane near it - it is expensive as a building, but cheap in maintenance. Build some building that gathers water (pumping station or water tower) and drain pipe on the edge of the water. Open the budget panel and cut the funding of both disciplines by half.

Lead few legs from the main road and create a grid of future estate from them. Leave some space in case you would like to improve the main road in the future. Try to leave as long as possible segments of the exit road between the crossroads as they are blocking the traffic.

You have probably noticed already that a squares show around the roads - it's the buildings territory radius. You can place zones on it - residential, commercial and industrial. In later part of the game another zone will be available as well - offices.

At the beginning of the game you will need a lot of residential zones and some industrial zones. Grow some industry only when the citizens will start asking you for it.

Don't forget that you must secure some water and electricity for your citizens, and sewer system and energy structures are expensive. Water reach territories that are less than 8 fields away from the pipe, but at always it is a good idea to place more pipes than the minimum. Electricity must be lead to the edge of the zones, but the zones itself don't pass the energy, so zones with low density of buildings might suffer from lack of electricity, unless you lead it to each building separately.

After you deal with those topics, start the simulation.

Buildings will start showing. If after more than dozen of days you will start receiving some money and you will see green income to the budget then it means that you have done everything right and the city will start it path to becoming a second Manhattan.