Portland, Oregon has been called America's most livable city. For the past 12 years, Portland has been led by Mayor Vera Katz. She retired from this phase of her long career in public service at midnight, December 31. We'll talk to Mayor Katz about what's made Portland a national model, the challenges the city now faces and what's next for Portland and for Vera Katz.

Vera was Mayor of Portland, Oregon from 1992 until the end of 2004. During her 12 years in office, Portland won almost every national designation given for livable cities.

Prior to winning office as Mayor, Vera Katz served 20 years in the Oregon State House, becoming its speaker in 1985. She has been an unyielding advocate for education and civil rights.

She was born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1933 and soon after, her Jewish family fled for France as Hitler came to power. When she was only 7 years old, she escaped France with her family by hiking over the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain. That same year, her family arrived in Manhattan. She studied dance with Martha Graham while at Brooklyn College. She moved to Portland in 1964.

Also on the show is Minneapolis-based planner John Shardlow. He has been studying closely a number of development cases in Minnesota initially opposed by their neighborhoods - the people commonly known as NIMBYs or "Not in My Backyard." The outcomes may surprise you - may even encourage you.

John is a principal in the planning firm of Dahlgren, Shardlow, and Uban, Inc. based in Minneapolis. The firm works throughout Minnesota preparing comprehensive plans, designing parks and streetscapes, and in redevelopment.

We'll talk to Mayor Vera Katz and planner John Shardlow on "Smart City."