The changes were part of a multipronged effort to reduce homelessness by offering more affordable housing, rental subsidy programs for low-income residents struggling to afford their homes, and legal assistance to tenants on the verge of eviction. But the sweeping approach has not put a discernible dent in homelessness.

Mr. de Blasio’s shelter plan was to come a day after the City Council released a report on a legislative package aimed at overhauling the city’s Fair Share law, which is supposed to bring more parity to the way public facilities, including homeless shelters, are distributed throughout the city. The report found that homeless shelters, drug and mental treatment centers and foster care group homes were concentrated in 10 community districts, with an average of 21.7 beds per 1,000 residents in those districts, a balance five times the city average; that would change if legislation restricting such clustering is adopted.

The Coalition for the Homeless is opposed, saying the revamp could inadvertently stall the opening of shelters and would exacerbate the problem of homeless families with children being placed in shelters far away from their neighborhoods, saddling students with long commutes or temporary school transfers that threaten to hurt them academically.

“What we end up with is the inability to locate in any neighborhood,” said Giselle Routhier, policy director at the coalition. “It would inhibit the city from locating shelters in neighborhoods where families may need more support.”

It was unclear whether the council’s Fair Share legislative package would hinder or help the mayor’s plan to build more shelters, which would open over the next five years.

But hotels turned into makeshift shelters are problematic, offering little privacy and space for families crammed into rooms with double beds. There are generally no kitchens — an especially difficult hardship for families with children, unable to get a home-cooked meal for weeks, even months, at a time. Cluster housing, consisting of units within private apartment buildings, has also been troubling, for its poor conditions and an inability to provide people with the services they need to move into permanent housing.