I tend to start with a long avenue connecting a large residential zone to a large industrial zone, with my dirty power plant in it. This is usually in the corner, so as to take advantage of the fact that pollution that bleeds over the edge of the map is essentially lost. Up the right-hand-side of the avenue I'll zone low-density commercial, so as to take advantageof the hhigh volume of traffic up the Avenue.<br /><br />I also tend to plonk down a nonfunded W2E plant to take care of all garbage problems in exchange for a little pollution, and to put down elementary school coverage right off the bat - it might be 50 years before I put down anything higher than elementary, but the minor investment is so worht it once you want to start moving away from dirty industry.