After the mid-1980s, against the background of the growing suburban centers and progress in information and communication technology, there was a drastic change in the location of office function. In particular, the concept of the “edge city,” proposed by Garreau (1991), strongly influenced studies on trends in the location of office function. This paper first surveys trends in studies on the location of office function in North America, Western Europe, and Japan after the 1990s, when edge cities emerged in these regions. Then, it investigates the local differences and factors contributing to the study trends. The survey results can be summarized as follows.<br>First, the decentralization process and the factors contributing to it in urban areas differed in each region. In North America, office decentralization was a result of the shift from mass transport to a private transport system. In Western Europe, urban policies and progress in information and communication technology contributed to office decentralization. On the other hand, the conditions in Japanese cities varied with size. Office decentralization in large cities was a result of progress in information technology, but in most local cities, it can be ascribed to the changing preferences for traffic mode.<br>Second, a city-to-city comparison revealed another difference between North America and Western Europe. In North America, where the hierarchy between cities is clear, it is assumed that a difference in the accumulation of urban infrastructure influences the location of office function. In Western Europe, it is assumed that the relocation process of the office function spread from the core regions to peripheral ones, because it is recognized that the stage of socio-economic development influences the location of office function. On the other hand, with regard to Japan, studies on the location of office function have concentrated on three major urban areas, and therefore, there is only limited scope for a city-to-city comparison. The differences among cities in Japan should be clarified by examining the office relocation process in small- and medium-sized cities.<br>Third, the changing direction in office relocation—from decentralization to recentralization—in both North America and Western Europe was identified. However, there are some differences in the two areas in this regard. In North America, intensifying globalization is resulting in the recentralization of office function in major metropolitan areas. Meanwhile, in Western Europe, office developments in the central areas in large cities are relatively limited. It is thus assumed that the tendency for recentralization is strengthened around a small city with a long history. In Japan, recentralization is observed in the major metropolitan areas. Therefore, we should clarify how the phenomenon of recentralization is affected by globalization and whether it is observed in medium- or small-sized cities.<br>The survey showed that, in North America, the decentralization and recentralization of office function were the result of realignments of business organizations brought about by globalization. On the other hand, in Western Europe, the urban policy and stage of socio-economic development of each area were the major factors contributing to office relocation. In Japanese trends of studies on the location of office function, there are few references for a city-to-city comparison. Therefore, it is unclear whether the decentralization and recentralization of office function originated in cities owing to urban policy or a general reorganization process based on globalization. We need to accumulate empirical data from the viewpoint of comparing individual cities and regions.