I stumbled upon an article from 2013 that I absolutely loved. It’s about the making of Simcity. Some key learning was the fact that parking lots in the game are way smaller than in real life, in order to make the game more enjoyable.
http://v-e-n-u-e.com/Sim-City-An-Interview-with-Stone-Librande
There are so many city builders game nowadays.
A selection can be found here:
https://gamerant.com/addicting-city-building-games-with-unique-themes/