Sounds like you are doing fine. Some of the levels the challenge is in getting all the required buildings to fit on the map, others the challenge is trying to keep things from being too spread out.
Just build several smaller communities rather than one large one -- one near your docks, one near the game, one near the gold mines, one near the quarries, one near... I don't remember whether you get those at the beginning of the game or not, so I won't ruin the surprise. You will find, however, that several of these functions can be served by the same community. Looking at my map, I had 3 communities, but had I planned ahead, 2 would have been sufficient, 1 would probably have worked, though it would be stretching it.
Check out some of the threads here and files in the download section about good housing layouts. That is the biggest challenge -- picking the right housing method for the level. Always using the same one can work, but it is impossible for one layout to be optimal for every map, and that makes it a little boring anyway...
If you want more detailed info, there are always the walkthroughs.
Enjoy the game and keep posting!