Since the failure of CitiesXL, city simulation fans have been stuck with EA because of the lack of a good alternative. But check out this kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...city-of-your-d
More info: http://www.techspot.com/news/51884-c...ckstarter.html
I threw them $25. If there's any time that a new game might challenge SimCity, it would be after this fiasco.