At the nonprofit Emmaüs Solidarité homeless shelter in Paris, it is not uncommon for new residents to experience sleepless nights as they navigate the profound disruptions, uncertainties, and stressors of housing instability. However, since the summer months, residents have had access to an entirely new outlet to help them cope with the weight of a restless evening: stepping out into the courtyard to complete a few circuits on a newly installed outdoor gym.
This unique installation is the result of a collaborative partnership between the City of Paris, the nonprofit shelter operator, and Omnigym, a Finnish fitness equipment manufacturing company. The project seeks to achieve much more than simply providing convenient access to exercise gear; its broader aims are to build a sense of community, foster self-esteem, and offer meaningful recreational opportunities to individuals who might otherwise be completely excluded from traditional wellness spaces.
Consisting of four pieces of professional-grade workout gear set up directly in the garden next to the shelter, the small public gym provides a fitness option for all members of the local community. Crucially, it is specifically located to assist individuals who lack the disposable income required for commercial facility memberships or who might not feel welcome or comfortable stepping foot inside a private, upscale gym. By placing the equipment in such an accessible setting, the initiative also addresses broader, systemic urban issues of physical inactivity and social isolation among marginalized populations.
Kirsti Laasio, the chief executive officer of Omnigym, emphasizes the social cohesion that such public installations can naturally foster in urban environments. It is a natural gathering place, she notes, where people from vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds can begin to cross paths and interact simply because they are exercising side by side. It creates a very egalitarian sort of situation where traditional social barriers are temporarily leveled by the shared pursuit of physical activity.
The Finnish company, which already boasts more than 800 installations across 18 countries worldwide, firmly believes that there is both a compelling business case and a profound social value in constructing new gyms and workout spaces tailored specifically for disadvantaged communities. Laasio points out that outdoor fitness facilities of this kind can easily become an integral part of modern city planning and urban design. Because they serve as organic catalysts for social contact, they help activate underutilized streetscapes, promote active lifestyles, and encourage preventive healthcare on a population-wide scale.
As part of these broader efforts, Omnigym’s ongoing "People’s Gym" initiative focuses on installing equipment free of charge in alternative spaces, such as correctional facilities and shelters, to demonstrate the tangible positive impacts that fitness infrastructure can have on vulnerable communities. While public sector clients—such as municipal governments, urban park districts, and regional authorities—make up the vast majority of Omnigym’s standard commercial clientele, these philanthropic and pilot installations allow the company to study user behavior and community integration in unique environments.
At the Emmaüs Solidarité site in Paris, the compact outdoor fitness zone was intentionally designed to deliver a comprehensive strength-training workout using a minimal footprint. The installation includes four essential pieces of equipment: a lat pulldown machine, a squat station, an incline bench press, and a low row. This selection allows users to target major muscle groups effectively, providing a balanced regimen that supports both upper and lower body conditioning without requiring complex adjustments or external weights.
The installation in Paris came about after Omnigym had already established a working relationship with the municipal government, having previously deployed two other outdoor gym locations within the city. When Laasio and her team were approached by city officials who mentioned that a local homeless shelter was looking to trial a novel wellness concept, Omnigym quickly decided to participate. The company agreed to sponsor the trial by fully donating the equipment and setting up a monitoring system to study the real-world impact of the installation on shelter residents.
The professional-grade gear was successfully installed in mid-July, and discreet sensors integrated into the equipment have since provided a steady stream of data showing that the gym gets consistent, reliable use from the community. Rather than sitting idle, the equipment has become a dynamic fixture of the courtyard, proving popular even during atypical hours when traditional fitness centers would be completely locked and vacant.
One of the most revealing findings from the sensor data showed that people at the Emmaüs Solidarité location tend to work out significantly later in the day and deep into the overnight hours, as opposed to the traditional early morning or evening rush seen at standard public parks. This temporal shift highlights an atypical daily routine compared with conventional gym users, aligning closely with the sleep disruptions, anxiety, and irregular schedules frequently experienced by individuals transitioning out of homelessness.
By analyzing this anonymous user data, the company is able to gather valuable insights that validate the ongoing need for such installations. Moreover, these usage patterns help Omnigym make a stronger, data-driven case for establishing additional locations in similar settings, while also helping planners better tailor the specific array of machines deployed at any particular site to match the unique habits and needs of the local population.
