I am going to change gears a bit. Since we are starting from scratch practically I suggest we add/re-design the needs and stuff. First of which would be using the great SC4 system ...
Residential (Homes)
Basically who has housing and who is homeless. It would work where improvements such as cottages or buildings in the city would give you more houses. The bigger your population the more houses it would require for you to build. If you population goes over the amount of houses you have then they will get angry, unhealthy and increasing crime.
Industrial (Jobs)
This would depend upon your population and commerce demand. It would work where improvements such as farms, mines, or buildings in the city (such as factories) would give your population jobs. The more population you have the more workers you would have to fill those jobs. The more workers the more production you would have and the more resources you could produce and move on to the commercial jobs. Note that the industrial jobs would convert natural resources into "goods" that the commercial jobs could use.
Commercial (Jobs)
Places to sell "goods" and make gold. This would depend upon how much population and how much "goods" your industrial jobs are producing. These would mainly be buildings (markets, offices, malls, etc) in the city however I could imagine something like a trading post improvement providing commercial jobs too. The more population you have the more commercial jobs you can fill and the more commercial jobs you can fill the more money you can make.
Transportation
This would be not only the physical road but at what level of technology. Such as railroad, highway, ships, etc. This links up your natural resources and cities. These would help increase your trade.
Water
This would be the key factor in any city. Not only having water but their water use for people, crops, manufacturing, etc. This would effect food.
Electricity
This would come later in the game and only effect the buildings that need electricity. But also how much electricity usage.These would be produced by power plants such as coal, oil, gas, nuclear, wind, solar, dams, geothermal, etc.
Garbage
This would be determined by your population, specific buildings and civics. How much waste you produce would matter and buildings such as landfill or recycling center would help you reduce garbage and not make your people sick or angry.
Pollution
While indirectly tied to garbage this would effect the health of your cities. In addition if it got too out of hand it would cause global warming or make your water unusable.
Flammability
This would be how flammable your city is based upon the density, types of buildings (industrial would be very flammable) and how much fire protection you have. To counter this you could have water, fire departments, etc.
Crime
This would be based upon how crowded your city is, how educated they are, what civics you have in place and of course how much law enforcement you have. The buildings to counter this would be police station, jail, prison, courthouse, etc.
Education
This would determine your science rate. How educated your people would also effect crime, happiness and possibly even what level of building you could build. Buildings for this would be schools, libraries, museums, etc.
Health
This would determine not only how healthy your population was but how long they would live. Longer lives means more production. To help with this you could make buildings like a hospital, healer's hut, etc.
Parks and Recreation
This would be basically your happiness and culture. Buildings for this would be parks, theater, landmarks, sports arenas etc.
Rewards
These would be things you get separate from wonders in which you only get via quest, unlocking building chains or other such non-standard stuff. Note you would not get these in every game you played.
Ordinances
These would be in between wonders and civics. They would not be as major as civics but you give you a bit more control on the little things. Some examples would be carpool ordinance, nuclear free zone, power conservation, legalize gambling, etc.
Non-Sim City Factors
In addition you would have your standard stuff like Espionage, City Defense, Unit Production, Religion, etc.
In short I think these main factors would fit well within civilization, especially when factors are on a national scale.
