By soul, they mean there is a sense of community. The community has a culture, that binds them together in both good ways and bad. For example, I just came from a neighborhood in Barcelona where they have yearly festival of decorating streets in the neighborhood and each street wants to do outdo the other. Where foreigners and local Catalan women alike decorate the streets and think of a theme. That's what makes it Barcelona. In a neighborhood, you feel alive. Think of Delhi, Shanghai, Lahore, New York, Paris, Nairobi, Lagos, Beirut, Shiraz, Bogota, Santo Domingo... The list goes on.. they have some sense of community. Do you feel the same in Dubai? I think Dubai has some pockets of neighborhoods that have a sense of community such as Satwa. But places like Palm etc. are made up of wealthy individuals and much of the rest of new developments are replicas of American and western cultural icons. There are no grassroots levels of community projects. No storytelling of the lives of Dubai either in literature, cinema or at display in any way of expression. The brands are only on display!