Biophilia, New Urbanism, and “He”: H. P. Lovecraft’s Contribution to Environmental Thought

H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937), who lived his entire life in large cities, was by no means a nature writer. However, in his short story “He,” written in 1925, Lovecraft presents readers with a compelling and original critique of twentieth-century American urbanism, one that bears little resemblance to either E. O. Wilson’s influential theory of biophilia or the environmental movement in general. In it, he depicts New York as a “dead city,” a place that no longer has any connection to its earlier history and which, as a result, alienates and atomizes its inhabitants. His vision of New York, which in the future becomes a truly alien place, anticipates the arguments of the New Urbanists, specifically the architect Léon Krier, whose perspective on urbanism can be applied profitably to the story. What emerges from this seemingly minor weird tale is an earnest and persuasive plea for conservation—of the urban environment.