Learn Spanish (Latin America): Dormir la siesta es típico en esta ciudad.

In Spanish, when an action acts as the subject of a sentence (like "Taking a nap" does here), you always use the infinitive (dormir). The Spanish gerund (ending in -ndo) is only used to describe actions that are currently in progress, never as a noun.

Why does the sentence use Dormir la siesta instead of the verb tomar (to take)?

While English uses the phrase "to take a nap", the most natural and traditional expression in Spanish is dormir la siesta (literally "to sleep the nap"). You might occasionally hear tomar una siesta, but dormir is the standard verb used for this activity.

Since this lesson is about soler (to usually do something), how could I express this same habit using that verb?

To describe this local habit using soler, you could say La gente suele dormir la siesta en esta ciudad (People usually take a nap in this city). Notice how the present tense suele (from soler) is immediately followed by the infinitive dormir.

Why do we use es instead of está for "is typical"?

We use es (from the verb ser) because being "typical" is a defining characteristic or a permanent trait of the city's lifestyle and culture, rather than a temporary state or condition.