That latter point is something I think very few people in urban living situations understand. My car is, if I am to misappropriate a term, a 'safe space'. It's like an offshoot of my house I bring with me elsewhere. If there's something I don't carry on my person regularly, but might need, it's probably in my car. My car is a space that I own, that I control, and of course, can lock myself inside. And my car instantly affords me the ability to move myself away from where I am, and to something else.

My comfort level is based in part on either being in walking distance to my house or to my car.