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"Don't get funky confused with soul. Just because at one point you could get warehouse space for next to nothing and now everything costs a lot, that's not necessarily soul."

I hope that's good news for Raleigh, where cheap warehouse space was snapped up long ago, and funky public arts projects routinely hit the skids.

A city's soul, Black says, is defined by its people and how they deal with each other. In Austin, this means you can go to a party and mingle with representatives of every walk of life.

"There's a lot of cross-pollination in hanging out," he says.

Perhaps the city of Raleigh should hire a party planner.

City of friendliness

I have a theory about Raleigh's soul. The small-and-friendly city of 50 years ago was filled mostly with people who grew up nearby. It has since transformed into a transplant stew. It seems nearly everyone is from somewhere else (I'm from Missouri) and brings with them their ideas, culture and favorite chain restaurant. To make everyone feel at home, pretty soon there's something for everybody everywhere, and a lot of the sticking-togetherness is lost.

That's not to say that Raleigh has lost its friendliness.

If strangers' interpersonal dealings were the only criteria for defining a city's soul, Raleigh would be the "City of Head-nodders." A friendly place filled with friendly people who will acknowledge each other's presence on the sidewalk, Raleigh's friendliness puts places like NYC to shame.

Friendliness is definitely soulful. Maybe we just need to market it better.

After all, New York City has a genius-level slogan: "The Big Apple." Austin has its motto, too.

Raleigh is "The City of Oaks." Contrast that with Durham's bold statement, "The Bull City," and Raleigh sounds like a good place to take a nap.

I spoke with Mayor Charles Meeker about the idea that perhaps the roots of Raleigh's residents are too far-flung to create togetherness. He disagrees. He says the geographic diversity of its residents' hometowns is an attribute.

When asked about Raleigh's soul, he describes a young, energetic town, one that is interested in technology and entertainment. It's also a town where its residents are focused on individual achievement. People work hard in Raleigh.

We talked about the changes happening downtown, about the new restaurants and nightlife. He hopes an inviting downtown will draw in people from all over the city, where they can interact and get to know one another.

Not a bad idea, really. Maybe we can throw one of those Austin parties to introduce everyone.

After the interview I hit the Internet and come across a news release for the new Raleigh Convention Center. In making an announcement about a major convention coming to the new center in 2009, the mayor is quoted: "Raleigh has always ranked highly as a great place to live and work. Now we're also a great place to host a meeting."

I hope the convention center is a success, that people come to Raleigh and spend money and enjoy themselves. But I know that every time I attend a meeting, it kills a tiny bit of my soul.

Many souls

With all the academics in our area, I figure calling one would be a good idea. So I find Roberto G. Quercia, associate professor of city and regional planning and a faculty fellow at the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.

He teaches courses on houses and housing finance. I ask him: Does Raleigh have a soul?

"I think Raleigh, as many cities, has many souls," he says.

Quercia uses New York City as an example. Manhattan is different from Brooklyn or Long Island. In a city, there are as many souls as neighborhoods. So Fayetteville Street is different from the Cameron Village area and North Raleigh.

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