El entorno construido y su capacidad comunicativa. Las ciudades mayas de Chinikihá y Palenque en el Clásico Tardío

The Maya cities of Palenque and Chinikiha reached the urban form that we can appreciate nowadays in the Late Classic period (ca. 600-900 CE). Several of their physical characteristics, which point to the urban planning of certain places, are still visible and can be investigated together in order to comprehend the functioning of the two settlements. Furthermore, the study of the urban morphology points to the ability of the built environment to guide its users across the cityscape. In this article, by taking up Kevin Lynch’s 1960 study on the urban quality of three American cities evaluated according to the mental images of their inhabitants, this essay poses an analysis that starts from the identification of forms in order to outline the degree of legibility of the two settlements. The visual impact that specific buildings and places can have on their users will be also taken into account.