I'd say we should focus on reclaiming buildings along the northern edge and then work our way down. I mean, I'm diving deep into hostile territory to revive people at the mall, but that's just because that's where the people needing revives are lined up. For the most part, pushing a border of safety gradually south is the best way to ensure that buildings you've secured stay secure.
I'm in Earletown, and there are eleven zombies in the four squares next to me.
waitaminute, how in the hell did you end up in Earletown? That's nowhere near Pegton, come home!
Also, there's a map on the wiki that gives a rough idea of where the danger spots are:
http://wiki.urbandead.com/index.php/SuburbThis map isn't 100% accurate, but it's usually pretty close and you can see that Earletown is currently marked as Very Dangerous. For reference on what the danger levels mean, a bunch of us are fighting to reclaim Vinetown and that's only Moderately Dangerous.
ADDITION: Just noticed one of the people in the safehouse with me is the first time I've ever seen a survivor with Brain Rot, huh -
http://www.urbandead.com/profile.cgi?id=1379086ALERT: Anyone in the vicinity of Gelasius General Hospital in Vinetown, 9 zombies currently occupy it. I tried to barricade it, but I could only get it up to loosely because zombies kept lurching in my way.