Definition
A United States federal law that sets uniform rules for how federal agencies, and any project receiving federal funding, must compensate and assist people, businesses, and farms when their property is acquired or they are displaced for a public project. In aviation, it most commonly applies to airport expansion, runway extensions, and obstruction removal projects funded through the FAA, where private land or buildings must be purchased or relocated.
Plain English
A federal law that says if a government project takes someone's property or forces them to move, the project has to pay them fairly and help them relocate, using the same rules everywhere in the country.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA airport planning, airport development, environmental review, and land-purchase material. It is not a cockpit procedure or a radio term.
Derivation
"Uniform" because the Act was passed to make compensation rules consistent across all federal agencies — before 1970, different agencies treated displaced people differently. "Relocation Assistance" covers helping people move, and "Real Property Acquisition" covers the legal purchase of land and buildings.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots rarely deal with this directly, but it shapes how and when airports can expand, lengthen runways, or remove obstacles near approaches. Projects can be slowed by URA requirements, which affects when improvements actually become available.
Grounding Statement
If a runway extension requires buying nearby homes with federal funds, URA is the law that sets the fair-payment and relocation-help rules.
Intuition Check
Do not read URA as an aircraft system, navigation aid, or operating procedure. In this FAA acronym list, URA refers to a federal law about land purchase and relocation for public projects.
Example Sentence 1
The runway extension project was delayed while the airport authority worked through URA requirements with the affected property owners.
Example Sentence 2
Compliance with URA ensured displaced residents received moving assistance during the airport improvement project.