This thesis questions the impact of neo-liberal reforms on the space, processes and relations of governing social matters in urban settings. As low and moderate income earners struggle to access a safe, decent quality of affordable housing, a number of urban centers have begun to explore a third space of governance that lies beyond the market and the state. It is my contention that experimenting with progressive political discourses and constructing a space for creative, alternative processes of urban governance to unfold are both possible and practical responses to a re-configured context of contemporary social governance. Through the lens of neo-Foucauldian governmentality, this project explores how the City of Burlington, Vermont has constructed an embedded role for a community land trust within the local governing framework, what this has meant for the citys lower income communities, and how this has affected local efforts to preserve the value of place.