Visible light communication (VLC) is an emerging paradigm that enables multiple functionalities to be accomplished concurrently, including illumination, high-speed data communications, and localization. Based on the VLC technology, visible light positioning (VLP) systems aim to estimate locations of VLC receivers by utilizing light-emitting diode (LED) transmitters at known locations. VLP presents a viable alternative to radio frequency (RF)-based positioning systems by providing inexpensive and accurate localization services. In this paper, we consider the problem of localization in visible light systems and provide an extensive survey of various location estimation techniques, accompanied by discussions of their relative merits and demerits within the context of accuracy and computational complexity. In addition, we investigate a cooperative VLP system architecture in which VLC receiver units are able to communicate with each other for the purpose of cooperation, and present a low-complexity, iterative localization algorithm to demonstrate the benefits of cooperation in VLP systems. Finally, we investigate optimal strategies for power allocation among LED transmitters to maximize the localization accuracy subject to power and illumination constraints.