The effect of expert reports prepared based on zoning plans on planning-The case of Bursa

Bursa is an ancient Anatolian city that has been home to different civilizations throughout history and stands out with its rich cultural and natural texture. Today, it stands out as the fourth metropolitan city in Turkey in terms of both population and socio-economic indicators. This has led to rapid urbanization, and in this process, zoning plans have become one of the most important tools shaping the future of the city. While zoning plans affect the physical development of the city, they also affect the rights and interests of city residents. Therefore, legal disputes arise regarding zoning plans. As it is known, annulment lawsuits are filed against zoning plans for various reasons by property owners, persons or organizations affected by the plan. In cases where the judge has difficulties in making a decision in annulment lawsuits filed before administrative courts, the special and technical knowledge of experts is requested to be utilized in matters where the judge needs technical knowledge outside his/her own field of expertise. Therefore, expert reports play an important role in the court's decision-making process. Expert reports are expert opinions prepared based on technical and scientific data and submitted to the court. These reports help the courts to make more accurate decisions on complex technical issues and thus make a great contribution to the resolution of disputes. Since zoning plans often involve complex and technical issues, the use of expert reports as explanatory also allows the courts to understand the issues in dispute and make the right decisions. In addition, since it indicates the deficiencies and mistakes made in the planning processes, it is also important as it will contribute to the planning process in terms of the better creation of the plans to be made later. In line with the aforementioned issues, this study will examine how zoning plans are affected by comparing court decisions and expert reports through in-case study. By examining both the plan files and the expert reports of the issues that have been made and annulled in Bursa in recent years, the quality and quantity of the plans made, why the plans were made, which plan functions were subject to the plan, how the reasons for the annulled plans and expert reports were prepared, and in which direction the relationship between court decisions and expert reports was concluded will be studied. This study will examine the impact of expert reports on the annulment of zoning plans in the province of Bursa, contribute to the general literature in the field of zoning law with the case examples examined, and provide an idea in terms of guiding the researches to be conducted on where and which plans were made in Bursa and for what purpose.