In this paper, we review a recently developed class of algorithms that solve global problems in unit distance wireless networks by means of local algorithms. A local algorithm is one in which any node of a network only has information on nodes at distance at most k from itself, for a constant k. For example, given a unit distance wireless network N, we want to obtain a planar subnetwork of N by means of an algorithm in which all nodes can communicate only with their neighbors in N, perform some operations, and then halt. We review algorithms for obtaining planar subnetworks, approximations to minimum weight spanning trees, Delaunay triangulations, and relative neighbor graphs. Given a unit distance wireless network N, we present new local algorithms to solve the following problems: