What is this project trying to accomplish?

The goal of the project is to create an open source, next-generation city simulation game. If you're not familiar with the genre, city sims (or city builders, as they're sometimes called) are games in which the player controls a virtual city, guiding its growth and development, either directly or indirectly. The most famous example is the Sim City series, created by Will Wright and Maxis. The tentative title for the game we want to build is Metropolis, and it is intended to be a spiritual successor to the Sim City games.