After using the Obliterate City in God mode I notice that trying to build a new city took forever it seems even in rabbit speed. Any zone would stay undeveloped or very slow to build up. Is that normal for this game anyway to rebuild faster?
Did you run each of the neighbors for a while? That might give them a chance to absorb the loss and offer commuters etc again. The replacement city might grow more quickly when all of its neighbors know there's a hole there needing to be filled.
Not sure how long I ran the new city to be honest.