The creation of the Cultural Traffic encapsulates the life of punk historian Toby Mott, who grew up in Pimlico, Central London, the heart of British punk during the 1970s, as an opportunity to engage with the past, the present, and the future of pop culture. He has become known for his Mott Collection, an archive of UK punk rock and political ephemera that includes over 1,000 posters, flyers, and fanzine. Founded in 2016, Cultural Traffic is driven by the ethics of self-publishing.