Ethnic mobilization is often a reaction to the social, cultural and political exclusion experienced by immigrants, indigenous peoples and other minorities. Mobilization may exacerbate such divisions by reinforcing fears of separatism and fundamentalism, leading to a backlash by elements of the majority population. Place-making is linked to the partial control of local markets, above all the housing, labour and retail markets, by minorities. When members of minorities own houses and shops, and set up businesses mainly employing co-ethnics, they are in a position to reshape urban space. Place-making has therefore been more rapid in countries where such markets are free and accessible (like the USA) than in countries where access is restricted. Ethnic middle classes may be agents of both ethnic mobilization and of social control. In situations of repression from the outside, these leaders may be effective in organizing group resistance.