A researcher is putting together a map of all the buildings and places in Edinburgh which have the most "emotional significance" to its residents.
Yang Wang has been asking people who live in the city which areas mean the most to them, and is putting this information into a map.
He says the institutions that look after the capital's most famous buildings often fail to understand the feeling of connection people have with less celebrated areas.
His research has involved speaking to community groups and asking people to fill in a questionnaire saying what places mean the most to them.
Many said they felt strongly attached to buildings like schools and secluded spots which weren't on official lists of historic buildings.
He has produced a map from this data, with the yellow points showing places where people felt strong emotional attachment that aren't in specific conservation zones.
'Missing Dimension'
Yang explained his research in a blog post on the Edinburgh World Heritage website.
He said: "The heritage sector has made only limited attempts to understand more about the emotional value of historic places, and about how place attachment might influence participation in civic affairs.
"It is on this ‘missing dimension’ of conservation that my PhD research focuses on."
He continued: "There are historic places of emotional significance which should not be disregarded in local development and planning, though they may not meet the criteria of a listed building or conservation area designation.
"For instance, the Save Leith Walk campaign in Edinburgh is fighting against the demolition of a historic two-storey sandstone block, not on the grounds of its architectural merits (it is not a listed building), but because it is a well-loved place to shop, work and socialise."
Yang, who is part of Glasgow University's Urban Studies department, hopes to present his full findings soon.
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