In the eighteen forties, settlers in the West were typically separated by miles of open fields, leaving individuals and families isolated and unprotected, but pioneers in Utah instead gathered into planned communities rather than dividing the land into scattered farms. Ideally laid out in a grid of ten one-acre blocks, these communities gave each member a one-acre or one-half-acre plot for a home and garden, with schools, churches, and commercial buildings at the center, while farming took place on greenbelts outside town. Although never fully implemented, this settlement pattern, often called the Plat of Zion, encouraged greater cooperation among the pioneers and provided access to what Joseph Smith called the benefits of society. After arriving in Utah, the pioneers strategically planned their communities and created a string of thriving settlements along the Wasatch Front.