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open and closed economic communities
In Europe, more than several hundred years ago, travel for most people was difficult and expensive, so most villages were largely self-contained, built around one or more manor houses. Most of the necessary services were available in the one community, and the community drew mostly on resources from its immediate area. These villages had to be located in an area where full range of the necessary resources, such as water, land to grow subsistence food crops, wild food, firewood, and building material were available nearby. These villages had an almost insular, closed economy.
In Australia, colonial era villages and small towns started in a time when travel was much more advanced, with commonly available animal-drawn carrying vehicles and large, long range ships.
These villages usually exploited a particular resource such as a mine, a forest for saleable timber, large areas of good agricultural land (to grow saleable produce; not for growing subsistence food crops), or a major transport feature such as a natural harbour or large river used to transport these resources when collected. These villages were located at that usually single, exploitable, resource.
A full range of the resources necessary for life did not need to be immediately available because many of them could be traded and transported from a great distance away using the available transport methods. However, a good local supply of water was usually necessary, as was at least some land usable for subsistence crops. While travel methods were relatively advanced, a natural basis for transport was usually also important, such as navigable waterway or geography suitable for land transport. These villages had a more open economy and were part of a broader economy that extended a long way from them.
Modern era small communities are based on the use of modern transport methods. Commonly, their economies are still focused largely on exploitation of a single resource; however, the majority of services that support the people are obtained from outside of the community, either by those services being delivered, or by the people transporting themselves, usually by driving car or flying in an aeroplane, out of the community to obtain them. Almost all of the resources that these small communities use are either trucked or flown in. These communities don't really have an independent economy; they are wholly part of a larger, external economy.