The same could be said for cool societies. However, there's been a 21st century change in cool that's exemplified by mishmash hipster culture. It's now cool to be diverse and inclusive. Of course, bullying and discrimination still takes place and is more digital than ever. But being cool at school and increasingly elsewhere is no longer about distinguishing yourself from uncool losers. There's an instructive scene in the remake of 21 Jump Street when undercover cops Jenko (the jock) and Schmidt (the geek) go back to high school only to realise that their coolness quotients have been flipped. Now being ''in'' is about allying yourself with as many minorities as possible, caring for the environment and taking your studies seriously with a view to making a difference.

The Politics of Cool This pop culture example illustrates why coolness can be an important and worthy political goal. In international relations coolness is about exerting the sort of soft power that draws others into line with your squad of nations without using force. At the national level, coolness tends to be about heritage protection and building cultural institutions. The federal government's cuts, efficiencies and consolidations to the National Gallery, National Library, National Museum and Archives have been widely regarded as very uncool. At the local level, coolness is about supporting creative events, organisations and planning with a view to fostering more vibrant and cultured communities. Here being cool is about social inclusion; that is, helping people to feel good about themselves and one another.

In the coolest capital city in the world there should be an abundance of opportunities for people to hang out and express themselves, opportunities that militate against isolation, anti-social and self-destructive behaviour. To this effect, in Canberra we could reduce hire fees and set-up costs for cultural events, especially new ones. This would make very little difference to the budget while greatly contributing to our creative wellbeing. There's good reason to be critical of the current ACT government and ones before when it comes arts and culture. As Paul Costigan argues, ''it's been a long time since we had someone who had experience and a passionate interest in the local and national arts scenes.'' As a recent example, the under-siege Land Development Agency defunded Art, Not Apart which, as its name suggests, brings people together with music, food, paintings, sculpture, fashion, performance, poetry, film and street art. The event has been running since 2011 and has hosted more than 400 local artists. It's helped us to understand and appreciate who we are, while challenging us to be different. Andrew Barr promised to save the festival if re-elected, but the uncertainty has made it difficult to prepare for 2017 and beyond. The less-than-committed Liberals say they will consult with the organisers once in government.

There's something about government administration that's intrinsically uncool, which is desirable when it comes to health, sewerage, roads, rates and other issues which demand efficiency and orderliness. However, when it comes to planning we often want a pro-cool government that knows when to stay clear and let loose. Cool areas commonly develop organically. Supporting them means preparing the soil and planting some seeds rather than digging in stakes and plucking the first thing that sprouts. Braddon started to become cool in the absence of government guidance. The same could be said for many industrial and semi-industrial areas around Australia and the world where creative communities have taken advantage of low rent and property prices. Gentrification is one sign of success in such areas, but can also force out the entrepreneurs who made them cool in the first place.

The ACT government could thus put aside space in new commercial developments for cool little local businesses and groups, just as it should ensure affordable accommodation with respect to residential developments. It could also foster more artistic hubs in vacant offices in the same way that it has supported start-ups and technology-related innovation via co-working spaces like Entry29. There's no shortage of examples in Canberra where locals, especially creative ones, have not been sufficiently consulted or catered for. Instead, the government has taken the easiest and short-term lucrative path; the result being restaurant strips like Emu Bank in Belconnen which the recently released Belconnen Master Plan recognises as aesthetically unappealing and unpopular. Canberra has done very poorly when it comes to making our prized waterfront locations cool. Importantly, we citizens have to also let loose a bit if Canberra is to be more cool.

The music scene would benefit from us chilling out when it comes to noise (let's not use the word ''pollution''). Last year A. Baker in Acton had to cancel live jazz evenings due to complaints from nearby residences, a problem that plagues many suburban venues. Being cool in Canberra requires more risk taking and less red tape. We shouldn't be so afraid of getting messy, kicking up a fuss and making the occasional mistake. Some people may well still abhor Skywhale, but many others have come to love her, both in Canberra and around the world. Cool cities are like abstract expressionist paintings: they don't always make immediate sense and almost never turn out as intended; but they're fun as hell to create and more meaningful when open to interpretation. Ciara O'Brien studies visual art at the ANU. Kim Huynh is a local author and independent candidate for Ginninderra.