My own way of putting it is the people are your blood cells. They course along your arteries, the city roads, carrying nutrients but with no purpose or aim but what you give them. Each random walker, ranging from firemen to tax collectors, will only walk a limited distance while making random turns at intersections. Part of your job is to design the roads and buildings in such a way that your housing and businesses get access to the wandering walkers they need by minimizing distances and using as few intersections as possible. This would be simple if you could just make one long road mixing services with residential homes but of course it's not that easy.
Every building has an influence on the desirability of the neighborhood.
Nobody wants to live far from work but neither do your citizens want to have a home right next to the military academy. Clever players will learn to develop zoning such that positive buildings such as temples are between housing and production areas. This need to balance opposites is the core strategy of city development in Pharaoh. A sprawling, culturally advanced city. To make things easier for the aspiring governor Pharaoh includes a full set of overlays and advisors.