The corner of a Cardiff car park which was said to be used by homeless people for shelter has been blocked off.
The area of the NCP car park in Westgate Street has been boarded up, as police say there have been issues with litter, drug-taking and human waste.
Homeless charities have criticised the use of "hostile architecture" to block off areas of city centres in an attempt to curb antisocial behaviour.
Richard Edwards, chief executive of The Huggard, which operates a homeless shelter in Cardiff, says hostile architecture does not address the underlying issues behind homelessness.
He said: "I genuinely believe the problem is we've got a situation across the UK where people are forced or compelled to live on the streets. Our priority has got to be looking at the underlying reasons why that is and put services in place to address that.
"If you're just putting in hostile architecture then all you're doing is displacing the problem.
"If you move the problem to a different part of the city you just end end up chasing the same problem around until you can address the underlying issues."
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In January Mr Edwards warned Cardiff council that drug use is compelling many homeless people in Cardiff to stay on the streets to raise money to fund their addictions.
He told a council committee that drugs gangs from big cities such as County Lines are exploiting vulnerable people in Cardiff.
The boarding was on private land, and had "absolutely nothing" to do with the council, a spokesman for the authority said.
Shelter Cymru has been critical of hostile architecture and says "you can't design out homelessness."
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A spokeswoman for the charity said: "The use of hostile architecture such as spikes, armrests in the middle of benches and railings to prevent people who are homeless from being able to lie down or sit in certain spaces chimes with a wider intolerance of people sleeping rough.
"The resources spent on designing, installing and maintaining these barriers would be better spent on addressing the root causes of homelessness to prevent it from occurring in the first place; and ensuring that where it does occur, meaningful solutions are on offer.
"We welcome the proposal to include this issue as a planning matter. At the end of the day, you can’t design out homelessness.”
South Wales Police said the antisocial behaviour in the area was upsetting people.
A police spokeswoman said: "For some time there have been issues with litter, drug paraphernalia, and human waste being left in this particular corner which was causing alarm and upset to members of the public.
"South Wales Police raised these concerns with NCP who have taken the decision to close the area off."
NCP declined to comment.
