Some people would argue that metropolitan Salt Lake became a big city when it landed a major-league sports franchise, the Utah Jazz, in 1979. Others would say the 2002 Winter Olympics conferred big-city status.

But there's one measure that's more objective. Demographers, the people who count people, said this week that Salt Lake County has reached a population of 1 million. Nothing says big like 1,000,000. Never mind that New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston and many other U.S. cities are many times that.

We're not sure that this million-human milestone will mean much to the collective psychology of Utah beyond a brief splash on the front page and the 10 o'clock news. But we sense that, in context with some other symbolic factors, it will.

Big is both good and bad.

On the good side, big populations can afford cultural resources that smaller ones cannot, things like good universities and medical care and job opportunities and sports teams and symphony orchestras and live touring entertainment. They also tend to be culturally diverse, which gives people chances to expand their personal horizons.

Salt Lake County's population milestone happens to coincide with booming economic growth and record-low unemployment, so big also looks prosperous right now. During an economic downtown, by contrast, big can look depressing.

Big can have other negative connotations, as in big-city crime, big-city ethnic tensions, big-city taxes and big-city traffic. Salt Lake County has some of those things, including big-city air pollution. But, generally speaking, it's still a very livable place.

The big question for the people of Salt Lake County - and for the Wasatch Front generally - is how to preserve the good things about small as big gets bigger. We are encouraged that Utahns are thinking hard about that and taking action. Witness Envision Utah, public support for mass transit and open-space preservation, and growing environmental awareness.

Bigger isn't always better, but in some ways it can be. It all depends on planning, civic involvement and wise management.