Building codes and zoning laws have a substantial impact not only on the design of buildings but also on the shaping of entire communities and cities. While building codes govern how to build, zoning codes prescribe what to build and where, somewhat analogous to the programming or master planning and design phases. With such an influence on the built environment, looking at them through the lens of equity is key as we confront climate change, integrate resiliency in buildings and communities, and address inequity. Inequity ranges from disparate effects of disasters on communities of color, unhealthy materials in existing buildings leading to worse health outcomes, higher energy burdens on low-income households, disproportionate impacts of the effects of climate change, historic redlining of Black neighborhoods, displacement by the gentrification of neighborhoods, etc. The session examines how building and zoning codes can address equity on some of these issues. It explains the evolution process of code cycles and traces their limits in addressing specific inequities. Attendees will look at codes in a different way, as an important and indispensable tool in their arsenal as they address equity through planning and design.